Tuesday, July 25, 2017

If the first one is remembered for being the hardest course I have run with regard to elevation, and the second leg is remembered for being absolutely beautiful, the third might be the one I talk about the most and will be remembered for what happened with only .3 to go!

I felt like I was constantly referencing Murder, She Wrote and Cabot Cove every time we were near water. My final run started in Oak Harbor, Washington right at the water, and of course I thought I was in Cabot Cove! While waiting for Katy to come in from her final run we took time to enjoy the scenery. Picturesque. It smelled salty. The water was gently lapping on the shore. It was perfect! I have a Roadside Attractions app on my phone and was so giddy when I looked over and found a Flintstone's car that is on my app. Too cute! But all that relaxing had to come to an end. My vertigo kicked in as my nerves were getting ramped up. I was so excited, but my body wanted to fight me. I wasn't going to let the dizziness win. I kept drinking my water until I couldn't drink anymore. I felt as ready as can me and when Katy came in I jumped right in and took off for what Ragnar declared an "easy 3.1" miles.

Ragnar lied.

It might go without saying, but my plan was "run until the van passes me." Yeah, they never passed me. My plan failed all 3 times! I felt light on my feet and was in the zone, enjoying running through this pretty city. But it took no time at all and I realized I had been running uphill for quite a while. What??

I think I was near 1 mile in and I was passing another girl that I would leap frog with for a while. I told her I was going to try to not be annoying and she just laughed. She told me she thought we had a mile of nonstop uphill. Well, that was right, except then it kept going. This whole run was uphill except for the very end and the very beginning (and a mini dip in the middle by Walmart). WHAT??

The views from the top of the first here were really nice. I could see lavish homes and the water again. Also, I was able to see 4 deer in total. That's always peaceful. When I ran by their Walmart (which I didn't expect to see in a town like this) I had to pause on breathing after taking in a deep breath of someone's marijuana smoke. Lovely. It was after Walmart when I made a sharp right and started the next climb that things took a turn.

I texted Kari that I was going to need water at the finish line. I didn't carry any with me because I never drink during a 5K. I felt confident I'd be fine since I hydrated so much before and I thought I'd have a quick run. Yeah, I don't run quick and EASY up steep hills, okay? The sun was blazing down on me. I was getting thirstier by the minute. It got to the point that I was debating asking fellow runners for a tiny sip as they passed. But I didn't. I got too shy to ask a van off to the side if that had any sort of liquid to spare. Just getting my lips wet would have been good. In the final mile I even stared in ditches for water. What if I found a bottle? Would I be crazy and drink it? I looked in every home that I passed to see if maybe they were about to step outside and looked like sympathetic people. Nobody. Another runner assured me we were so close to the end and I could do it. Thanks, runner dude!

I was starting to question if I would finish or would I die in the ditch? Was I going to be taken away by ambulance? Would anybody know to call my mommy? I rounded the next to last major turn and it was almost like this light was shining down from Heaven. What was it landing on? A green Jeep. I told myself I bet that person is cool, they have a nice Jeep with perfect paint. A big, red truck and a nice boat. Maybe they will save me! As I passed the truck a choir of angels started singing! They had their lawn sprinkler on!! There was no shame in my game, I made a mad dash and ran and stood in it. Things couldn't get better. Or could they?

Behind me I heard a guy say, "You've got the right idea!" What was this?? Is this my savior? The owner of the Jeep and his son happened to be coming outside right when I got to their sprinkler. I laughed and then said, "this will sound so strange, but could I please have a cup of water?" It took no time at all and he was in the house and bringing me out a bottle of cold water. I bet I drank half of that, dripping it all over myself in the process. I told him that I saw that Jeep and knew somebody cool had to live here! He asked about the race and how much farther we had. I laughed when I said I only had .3 to go until I was done, but we still had hours to go over all as a team. I thanked him profusely and was on my way with a new spring in my step.

It seemed like no time at all and I was seeing my team waiting, with more cold water!! I DID IT! What a freaking challenge that was!! Hard, but completely Awesome! I cannot wait to do it all again!

*Here's a side story .... I told Shawn about the Jeep guy since we are a Jeep family... thanks to Facebook and the Jeep community, the super cool water supplier was tracked down and told how appreciative I was! Cool!